Wellfit Malibu Fitness Retreat Review

Was one of your New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight? But you find yourself so bogged down with daily life that you haven’t been able to quite make the changes you hoped?

Enter a wellness retreat.

Going on vacation shouldn’t leave you exhausted, fatigued and in a mental fog when you return to work. At first glance you might think a week of working out while dropping the coffee, sugar and alcohol would do that, but instead you feel entirely invigorated and yes a tad sore. What is a Wellness Retreat?
To kick off the year, I attended Wellfit Malibu to find out more about these wellness retreats that are popping up all over the place. What to expect, who is it for and most importantly would the food be any good?

If you’ve ever watched any weight loss competition show, you’ve probably had a little nudge in the back of your mind that thought “hmmm a week of workouts and healthy food would probably help me get back on track“.

Regardless of your desire to lose weight or not, there is something immensely appealing about dropping all of your daily MUST DO’s for a week that’s focused on nothing, but you.

It’s an experience that goes beyond the scale; reconnect with nature, with others and mostly with themselves!

So let’s talk about Wellfit Malibu!

There are 3 key things you really need to know about: the resort, the fitness and the food!

What happens at a week long wellness retreat? Is it really a vacation? Click To Tweet

THE RESORT
The moment I stepped out of my car (thanks again TLC Limosuine for the easy ride!) I knew I was going to love Wellfit Malibu.

The banisters made of tree limbs, the huge glass doors and the girl bounding down the stairs in a bear onsie had my senses fully engaged and my runners feet ready to explore.
Instead of staying in a hotel, everyone has their own private cabin. It’s not only adorable and a chance to feel a little more in nature, but you have to get outside to walk to and from your cabin, no taking an elevator down to meals or classes!

Inside each cabin is cozy with wood furniture and a private bath. Cabins may share walls with adjoining cabins so there may be noise at times, but let’s be honest everyone is so exhausted from a full day of activities that no one will be keeping you up late!
Beyond the cabins, I was just enthralled with the property overall! Of course there is a pool and a gym that will absolutely remind you of what you see on The Biggest Loser, a hot tub, an aerobics gym and a main building for meals and spa time.But really it’s the little surprises:
– the white lights hanging from the trees which make it feel like a grown up summer camp
– turning a corner to find a surprise carousel
– a ferris wheel often rented by big stars
– the set to a new NBC show call Stronger
– even the cabins from Wet, Hot American Summer (pictured below)
The staff is so fantastically helpful and we really loved the tour Randy took us on in this bad boy!

THE FITNESS
Those of you following me on Instagram, probably already know that I loved every sweaty minute!That’s not to say that I didn’t have some moments of “I can’t do this”. Truly, I had to dig in to my endurance training bag of tricks, reminding myself that it’s just one step at a time or one rep at a time.

The daily workout schedule for your 7 day stay is generally as follows:
– morning 2 hour hike
– afternoon strength training
– afternoon H.I.I.T. class
– afternoon Zumba or Aqua class

Nope you don’t pick from that list, you do it all!!

The one thing missing from the fitness program for me was some kind of yoga or Pilates. I think it would have really rounded out the program on a few days where there were multiple H.I.I.T. classes.

Why the focus on these interval training classes? I’ll let science do the talking:

a single session of HIIT triggered molecular changes in muscle cells that remained detectable 24 hours later in a muscle biopsy. The muscle cells are essentially changing in order to prepare themselves for further hits of HIIT, so they can remember how much energy they need and how quickly they need to produce this fuel in order to sustain themselves through the bouts of intense activity. So if you’re not a fan of long workouts, interval training may be a good way to work your muscles without the time commitment.

I will definitely be doing more dance and kickboxing because the core workout felt amazing and it was such a good way to work my hips for better running! Plus it fits so well with my word of the year!!!

In fact, you gotta watch the hilarious dance video we made from our week of Zumba classes over on The Healthy Maven.
One of the things I appreciated about the Wellfit Malibu set up is their insistence on including hiking in every single day.

Here’s just a little of why they love hikes:

Everyone can challenge themselves at their own level
We know being in nature is a great way to improve mood
It’s an amazing calorie burner that for many feels more interesting than a gym class
It’s something you can take home and do anywhere
Ummm it’s beautiful

Each hike is lead by a group of guides, which means people can go at different paces and never feel left behind. Of course I just couldn’t help myself and wanted to run as much as possible…this meant at least a few guides with their heavy packs got to joyfully bounce along beside me since they don’t want a participant to ever be in the lead.Everyday the hike location changes, giving you an opportunity to see the beach, the mountains and everything in between. Unfortunately during our stay there were a couple days of torrential downpours and this weeny ended up opting to hit the treadmill for a run during the hike, as I couldn’t imagine squishing around in wet shoes for the rest of the week.

THE FOOD
All right, we know I’m not a super foodie. I LOVE my veggies, I LOVE simple and well yes I LOVE chocolate. So mostly I was thinking, “oh please don’t feed me crazy things and please do feed me enough”.

Since this retreat is focused on weight loss there are not only daily nutrition classes, but the menu plan is limited to 1500 calories daily. You might be looking at the above activity and thinking WHAT?!

I did.

BUT again I wasn’t there for weight loss, but that is the main goal of many who are attending. Like me they want to reset their palates to say good bye to the unhealthy snacks and they want to kickstart their weight loss.

Luckily at the very first dinner you realize the food is going to be good, it’s volume eating at its finest!! Every meal follows their formula for balance between healthy carbs like vegetables and complex carbs, healthy fats and lean quality protein.

Definitely the first vacation where I’ve been thrilled with the vegetables available! You know I love my 7-9 servings daily!!! I also realized I probably have not been eating enough complex carbs and that indeed is part of the sugar cravings I get, so I’m working on that now!

I actually have some great tips, I learned from the Wellfit team which are coming in another post, so I’m going to dive more in to the food at that time because this is getting really long! It’s too hard to pack a week in to one post!

THE FRIENDSHIP
I lied there are actually 4 things you need to know and the last is friendship.

While you will basically see us 3 bloggers in photos, that’s not because we didn’t bond with other guests. We just know it can be a bit much to suddenly see your personal life broadcast to over 2 million people you’ve never met.

I headed out to this retreat no knowing that other bloggers would be there and to my surprise at check-in a Kaley Cuoco look-a-like turned to me and said “Are you Amanda from RunToTheFinish?!”

Caught off guard, I stepped back and knew I’d seen that smile, but couldn’t place it…duhh LEE from Fit Foodie Finds!!! And just behind her another blogger whose drool worthy recipes I’ve followed for years Davida from The Healthy Maven.These two are besties to the end and it was highly amusing to watch their banter, but also a true pleasure to meet in person and have someone to talking blogging!!! {Hey you try working solo from home!}

But like I said, it wasn’t just about the bloggers. We bonded with everyone during hikes, over meals and oh yes shaking our groove thing in Zumba. I love that it’s a space where people feel entirely free to share what’s going on with them, their goals and well yeah to talk a lot about food and fitness!

In fact, I’ve been texting and emailing with a few of the people we met ever since we returned home. Just a few of those amazing peeps:
M: The information seeker, who seemed to peer right in to our soul and LOVES deep conversations that make you think.
K: Who is indeed a celebrity that was so open, honest and hilarious I was blown away.
T: I thought I’d met the happiest kindest person every in Jodi, but she’s getting a run for her money.

In fact, one of the things that struck me was how many people were back at Wellfit for their 2nd, 3rd or shoot 10th time!! It’s not because they didn’t learn wonderful tools to implement at home, it’s because they have developed friendships that last year long with other guests and staff.

It’s a chance to return and reset all their healthy habits, while enjoying a vacation that will send them home energized not mentally foggy and physically dragging from too many party nights.

Coming soon: what I wish I’d known before I went and more on healthy eating tips!

GIVEAWAY
Not only did I fall in love with this place, but the people who work there. And as proof of Wellfit Malibu‘s generosity they are allowing us to giveaway a one week stay!!!

Value: $2,595
Includes: 7 nights in private cabin, all meals, fitness classes, nutrition classes, daily hikes
TLC Limousine is also going to provide round trip transportation for the winner from LAX!
— I had an amazing chat with the owner who is from Germany during my ride. You’ll love their speedy service, which is comfy and means no waiting for hours on a shuttle drop off!! Contact them: 818-667-5017
*Note: Airfare to California is not included

How to enter:
1. Via Instagram, Facebook or your blog share a photo answering the following question: What “Wellness” Means To You.

2. Make sure you include the hashtag #WellnessThatFitsYou

3. Make sure you tag or link to @wellfit_malibu @RunToTheFinish @Thehealthymaven @fitfoodiefinds in your post

3. Read the recaps that The Healthy Maven and Fit Foodie Finds provided to learn more about Wellfit Malibu and make sure your story shows why you’d enjoy a week there!

4. After you write it, come back here and drop a link in the comments!! BONUS entries available in the Rafflecopter widget after that is complete.

5. Entries close on February 1 and a winner will be announced February 5th
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other ways to connect with Amanda
Instagram: RunToTheFinish

Facebook: RunToTheFinish